Measurement of opioid-induced sedation

One of the major side effects of opioid analgesics is sedation. Despite the fact that neither a universal definition nor a gold standard for the measurement of opioid-induced sedation exists, various neurophysiologic and psychomotor measures are used to quantify the sedative effects of opioids. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain management nursing 2001-12, Vol.2 (4), p.132-149
Main Authors: Young-McCaughan, Stacey, Miaskowski, Christine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects
Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - chemically induced
Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - diagnosis
Electroencephalography
Humans
Nervous System Physiological Phenomena - drug effects
Psychomotor Performance - drug effects
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Treatment Failure
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Summary:One of the major side effects of opioid analgesics is sedation. Despite the fact that neither a universal definition nor a gold standard for the measurement of opioid-induced sedation exists, various neurophysiologic and psychomotor measures are used to quantify the sedative effects of opioids. This report reviews the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches that are used to measure opioid-induced sedation. The first section summarizes various neurophysiologic measures (i.e., electroencephalogram, autonomic reflexes, and evoked responses), and the second section reviews psychomotor measures (i.e., visual analog scales, observer assessments, motor performance tests, tests of perceptual processes, tests of information processing, tests of memory, and composite tests) that are used to evaluate the sedative effects of opioids. Implications for future research on opioid-induced sedation are discussed. © 2001 by the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
ISSN:1524-9042
1532-8635
DOI:10.1053/jpmn.2001.25169